HB Construction is approaching the $100 million mark in school projects in New Mexico.

It’s latest is a $6.8 million renovation of Albuquerque’s Wilson Middle School. The Albuquerque contractor announced last month that it is embarking on a $35.1 million project for Bernalillo High School.

HB has become specialized in doing major school projects, ground-up and renovations, while keeping school operations open for business. The Wilson work, marketing coordinator Paul Dahlgren said, will be the first major renovation to the school’s main building in more than 60 years.

The main building will undergo 40,000 square-feet of renovations of the interior and exterior. HB also will build 8,300 square-feet of new construction, which will include a new kitchen area on the south side of the building and new administration building.

The project was designed by Huitt-Zollars, which has designed buildings for several schools in Albuquerque.

The Wilson project is expected to be completed in about a year. The school was built in 1953 to relieve overcrowding at what was then Jefferson Junior High School, now Jefferson Middle School. Wilson is located at 1138 Cardenas Drive SE.